Resolution in Support of Fired WBAI Workers and Calling for the
Reinstatement of the Labor Program, "Building Bridges"

WHEREAS, Pacifica Radio has been a voice of progressive community based
radio in the United States for over 50 years; and

WHEREAS, WBAI-FM for over 40 years has been a voice of community activism
in the New York metropolitan area; and

WHEREAS, over the holiday weekend of December 22 - 25, 2000 the Pacifica
Foundation, owners of WBAI-FM in New York City and four other Radio
stations in the United States, fired and banned various members of UE Local
404 without just cause and without the due process guaranteed them in the
existing collective bargaining agreement between the parties; and

WHEREAS, over the aforementioned holiday weekend the Pacifica Foundation
changed the locks on the doors of the station and has restricted access to
WBAI-FM, New York's listener sponsored community radio station; and

WHEREAS, precious dollars raised from listeners are being used by the
Pacifica Foundation to engage the services of union busting consultants and
law firms such as Epstein, Becker and Green; and

WHEREAS, Amy Goodman, a member of AFTRA and UE Local 404, the host of the
award winning Pacifica Radio program "Democracy Now" has been summarily
banned in violation of the UE contract from all local programming by WBAI
management; and

WHEREAS, the Pacifica Foundation and WBAI management have instituted a gag
rule barring on air discussion with the listeners of the on-going crisis at
Pacifica Radio; and

WHEREAS, said gag rule has been selectively enforced only against those who
oppose the views of the Pacifica Foundation and WBAI management;and

WHEREAS, WBAI management interrupted and threw off the air the Hon. Major
Owens, Member of Congress while being interviewed by Ken Nash regarding the
crisis at Pacifica Radio; and

WHEREAS, Ken Nash, a member of District Council 37, AFSCME and Mimi
Rosenberg, a member of the International Union, UAW, who are both members
of UE Local 404 at WBAI-FM and co-producers and hosts of the long running
"Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report" have been banned from
the WBAI airwaves; and

WHEREAS, "Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report," WBAI's only
regular labor oriented program has been cancelled; and

WHEREAS, free speech, the voice of labor, working men and women and
progressive politics must not be squelched;

RESOLVED, that the Bergen County Central Trades and Labor Council, AFL-CIO,
calls on
the Pacifica Foundation and WBAI-FM management to: